A MAZE OF GREED

Two sweaty entangled bodies lay in the bed with Heavy breaths late in the night. The wind that passed through the crack of the window made the lamps flutter.

Rees had covered his and Thea's body with a blanket. Currently, her head rested on his chest while he lay on his back. Their hot breaths were the only sound in the otherwise quiet room. ​​

"Rees..." Thea called his name in a low voice.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think that the neighbours have heard us, while we... um...?"

The corner of his lips stretched a little at her innocent question.

"Maybe."

Thea's eyes widened at that. "What will they think now?" There was a hint of worry in her voice.

"They will think how great you must be in bed!" He planted a kiss on her head, making her blush.

"Rees!" She hissed then hit him on the chest. She needed some time to get used to his naughty side.

Tonight had shattered all her previous evaluations about him. She had witnessed his wild and passionate side. And he had also helped her discover her own different side that she was unaware of till now. She had enjoyed every moment of this night with him.

Not only their bodies but their souls were also now connected with an unyielding bond.

They again fell into a comfortable silence while savouring each other's presence. Thea was exhausted with all the hard work she had to do tonight. Her eyes felt heavy as well as her head.

But Rees was another story. He was as charged up as the beginning of the night that he could have gone making her scream, lifting her to the peaks of ecstasy the whole night.

Being a werewolf had its perks!

But he knew that Thea was not a werewolf. She was a human, and humans had limitations. That was the first time of hers to get intimate, and he didn't want her to get uncomfortable than she already was.

And why he should rush when now he had her with him all of her life?!

Thea snuggled close to him while exhaling a long breath. Rees kept rubbing his thumb on her shoulder in small circles. She heard how fast yet rhythmically his heart was beating against his chest. It was a lullaby to her ears.

She kept on recollecting every moment of the night and wondered how all that happened. Where she found that courage to do all those unspeakable things with Rees and let him do the things to her body and soul that she had never imagined?

Where did she found that strength to let him enter her dark alley to break the doors of her abode of ultimate pleasure?

~"He is huge! I had not expected him to be that large!"~

"Then what did you expected, love?" Rees's question caught her attention.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"You said that you had not expected me to be that large. Then what did you expected?" He explained his question casually as if he was talking about the weather.

Thea's face turned crimson, and she moved her head to look at him with wide eyes.

"But- I- how do you know what I was thinking? Did I say it out loud?"

Rees sighed, for the time had come to make Thea aware more about the werewolf world. They had not gotten much time to talk after he had revealed his secret to her. And now, after finally completing the process of mating, she needed to know some things.

"Rees?"

Not answering immediately, he removed his hand from around her and asked her if she was comfortable sitting upright. He knew that she must be sore down there after four rounds.

No matter how much he tried, his wolf had overpowered his human side for some time, and his wolf was everything but gentle.

Thea was confused, she thought that if it was something that he didn't like, but she sat as he asked nonetheless.

When she adjusted her weight on her derriere, she hissed, for she felt the soreness and slight pain in her private part.

"If you are not comfortable then lay down."

"No, it's fine! It will take time to get better anyway."

Nodding his head, Rees offered her some water that she gladly accepted. During that time, he not only gathered his thoughts but also listened to everything that was running inside her head.

Putting the glass aside, she looked at him expectantly. But Rees's eyes set trained on her wet and swollen lips. When she realised it, she was about to wipe her lips which had gotten wet while drinking water, but Rees beat her to it.

Leaning down near her face, he didn't let his gaze waver from her tempting lips and darted his tongue out to ran it over them from one corner to the other.

Her hands that rested on her lap over the blanket curled into tight fists. The hair on her body raised at his sensual touch.

Her eyes closed on their own accord, and a moan left her throat when he captured her mouth into his. He was on the verge of losing the self-restraints, but she was tired and needed time to get used to him and his sweetly torturous ways.

Parting away from her, he looked deep into her eyes, which she had opened at the loss of his touch.

"I can go on and on, Thea. But first, we need to have a conversation here. I can see that you have many interesting questions to ask."

Nodding her head, Thea again asked. "How do you know what I was thinking?"

"Because we are mates!"

"Does that mean you can read my mind?" She wondered with wide eyes.

"Yes."

Perplexed at this, Thea tried to recollect every thought of hers since the first day she had met Rees with a speed of light. She wanted to know what kind of embarrassing thoughts her mind had come up with since then.

Little did she knew that the things that Rees was not aware of before, were now presented in front of him like an open book.

A peal of laughter bubbled inside him while he learned all her thoughts, her face was puzzled.

"Oh my dear mate, I know now that you always sniff around me to gather my scent."

"What?" Thea's face paled hearing this, and her shriek made Rees's ears ring.

"I don't know if your neighbours have heard us before but they definitely have heard you now!" He commented.

Thea tried to come up with a befitting reply, but all she could do was keep gaping at him, speechless and flustered.

"Thea, now let me answer your questions one by one. You know who mates are, right?"

Thea managed to nod her head in affirmation.

Rees then continued, "When a werewolf finds their mate, who can be a human, a werewolf, a witch, a vam..." He didn't complete the sentence and decided to go on.

"they declare their love to their mates. It is usually easy when the two persons are supernatural creatures. Our senses are sharper and stronger than the humans and that is why we can easily recognise our mates."

"But I didn't recognise you as my mate. And how do you know who is your mate? What if you love someone else and not your mate? And what-"

"Easy, Thea. I know you have dozens of questions and I promise that I will answer them truthfully. I once have made a mistake by keeping you in the dark but I am not going to repeat it now."

The memory of their recent fight when Thea told Rees that, she didn't want to marry him was still fresh like a degrading wound.

"Okay!" She said meekly.

"We feel a certain kind of pull towards the person. Their scent, their presence, their touch... everything feels different. Our heart starts beating in a certain rhythm that matches our mate, not beat by beat, as our heart rate is greater than the humans. But there is a certain connection that we feel with the person.

Their nearness makes our beasts feel alive, and they are the first to recognise their mates. And the confirmation comes after a touch."

"Touch?"

"Do you remember when I first touched you?"

Thea pondered over it but couldn't remember the day. She shook her head slightly.

"It was the day when you were about to fall from the carriage and I instinctively helped you by holding you." Rees told while smiling at the memory.

But Thea's fingers fidgeted with each other. She distinctively remembered that day, and since then, she was carrying a load of guilt that she felt needed to be relieved from her chest. And no time could be perfect than this.

"Rees... I wanted to bring this topic again but felt too ashamed to do so. I... I want to apologise for my behaviour that day. You helped me then and in return, instead of thanking you, I accused you of bad intentions.

I said many hurtful things and threw insults in your face but even then you always cared for me and now..."

"We are partners for our whole lives!"

Her eyes snapped up at him and his heart twisted sensing her pain. She was truly sorry for her behaviour that day but he didn't blame her even a bit. He never did!

"That is a past, Thea and I don't have any hard feelings for you because of that. Your reaction was natural concerning the circumstances in which we first met.

But trust me when I say that the moment I first laid my eyes on you, I felt that special pull towards you and that was the time I got a slight idea that you are my mate."

Thea's eyes widened again for the umpteenth time in a single night. "You... are in love with me since then?"

It was a long time ago.

"No!"